Refrigerator car



Dec. 7, 1937. G. c. GEORGE REFRIGERATOR CAR Filed June 29, 1936 Summa/ljPatenten Dec. 7, 1931 UNITED g STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,101,736 l' vREFRIGERATOR. CAR

Glenn .C. George, Omaha, Nebr.

l Application June 29, 1936, Serial No. 88,042

3 Claims.

'I'he present invention relates to refrigerator cars, and moreparticularly to a car wherein provision is made for converting .thecooling system .Y from one wherein an evaporative refrigerant, as

Aquired the consumption of an excessive amount of refrigerant, and aconsequent high cost.

In a train composed of freight cars there is a space between each twoadjacent cars, and as the trainv moves throughthe air, the rearend ofone car creates two whirling columns ofair between it and the front ofthe following car. The axes of thesev columns are vertical, and as thespeed of the train increases the rateat which the columns revolveincreases, the speed of such rotation increasing as the 'square of thespeed of the train. l l

`The heat ofthe air in the columns is transmitted to-the front and rearwalls of the forward and rearwardA cars, respectively, andin addition tothe heat of the air, the temperature of the columnsI is raised byfriction of the air against both the surfaces of the cars and againstthe air through which the ,columns move.

The heat from these columns is transmitted through .the walls of the carto the interior and rapidly melts the ice or causes the rapidevaporation of an evaporative refrigerant. It also causes the creationof air currents within the car. The air currents are known to greatlyimpair the eflicienc'y of an evaporative refrigerant. y

One object of the invention is. to provide a novel combination ofrefrigerating means whereby the car may be converted easily and quicklyfrom an ice-cooled car to an evaporative refrigerant cooled car or viceversa.

Another object is to provide a car in which an evaporative refrigerantmay be used, and wherein an excessive amount of refrigerant is notnecessary.

Another object is to provide a structure wherein when the car is cooledby an evaporative frefrigerant, the end portions of the car will bensulated from the central or. cargo-receiving-por tion, whereby thecreation of air currents is prevented and transmission of heat to thecargo space by radiation from the ends of the cars is prevented. l

Still another object is the provision of a car In which, when anevaporative refrigerant is used as the cooling means, ice may also beused,

whereby a great saving in the refrigerant is effected.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a sectional view of a car equipped 5 Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a sectional view on the line 5-5 of Figure 4. `l5

Figure 6 is a sectional view on the line 6-6 of Figure 4.

Figure 7 is a sectional view on the-line 'I--1 of Figure, 1.

Describing the drawing more particularly, the body of a refrigerator caris illustrated, having wal1s'8 of any suitable insulating construction.At each end of the cai` is an ice bunker 9 thatis set off from thecentral or cargo-receiving space I0 bya partition I I comprisingspaceditertical- 25 ly disposed studs I2. A barrier I3 is placed acrossthe studs and closes 01T the spaces throughout the central portion ofthe studs, but leaving circulating openings I4 and I5, respectively,above and below the barrier, and at the top and bottom of the car.Filling hatches I6 at thetop of the car may be provided, and drains I1lpass through the bottom of the car. When the bunkers 9 are lledwithv'ice it will be seen that warm airk from the space I0 will enter 35through the openings I4 and cold air will return y from the bunkersthrough the openings I5.

Within the cargo space I0 are located evaporative refrigerating devicesI8 which may be of any suitable type and which are so well-known thatthey do not require specific description. Preferably several of thedevices are used, and are so located as to give a uniform refrigeratingeffect throughout the entire cargo space.

In order to render the car convertible from an ice-cooled to anevaporative refrigerant cooled vehicle, doors designated generally I9,are provided adjacent each of the partitions II. These may be of anysuitable form, but for convenience and ease in installation and inoperation, the disclosed form is at present considered preferable. 'I'hedoors I9 are hinged to the roof ofthe v -carat 20 for vertical swingingbetween the closed l 22 and an inner filling of insulating material 23.

A gasket 24 may be mounted upon the surface of the door to insure asubstantially air-tight closure between the cargo space and the icebunker. The hinged structure may be advantageously of a well-known'spring type, wherein, when the door is in its closed position, springpressure will be brought to bear upon its rear side in order to force itfirmly against the sill 2|. A latch, as indicated at 25, may be attachedto the side of the car in order to automatically engage 'the door whenit is swung to its open positionand hold it.

When it is desired to cool the car by wet ice, the doors are opened asshown in Figure l, and the bunkers being filled, air will circulate intothe bunkers by way of the upper openings M, and having become cooled,will re-enter the cargo space I0 by way of the lower openings I5. The

drains I1 permit the escape of water dueto the f melting of the ice.

When it is desired to use the evaporative refrigerating system, thedevices I8 are charged with a suitable material, such as dry ice and thedoors are swung to their closed position, as shown in Figure 3. Wet iceis introduced into the bunkers 9. The effect of the conditions justdescribed is as follows. The sealed space within the bunkers 9 acts asan insulator against thetransmission of heat from the columns of air atthe ends of the car. The portions of the car walls between the bunkersare not subject lto the transmission of heat from the whirling columns,and inasmuch as the air slips by the at side walls easily, there isrelatively little heat transmission through them, so that ordinaryinsulation is sufilcientto effectively protect the cargo space. Theintroduction of ice into the ice bunkers when the doors are in theirclosed positions, effectively prevents the transmission of heat byradiation to the cargo space l0, while heat transmission by convectiondue to air currents within the bunkers is prevented. 'I'he ice alsoprevents the entrance of warm air currents to the cargo space by way ofthe drains i1, without the necessity for plugging the drains. Thus bythe combination of the ice and evaporative refrigerant the efiiciency ofthe latter is improved as the harmful effects due to conditions at theends of the car are prevented from acting upon it, and its full effectwill be exerted upon the cooling of the cargo.

Another use to which a car equipped in this fashion is adapted, is thepre-cooling of the cargo space of the car prior to the beginning of ahaul. Inasmuch as the main heat transmission in a freight car is throughthe ends of the car, the bunkers may be used as dead air spaces toinsulate the pre-cooled cargo space from the heated end walls. Of coursethis insulating effect may be rendered additionally effective by thepresence in the bunkers of water ice which will have the above describedtendency to inhibit air currents and to absorb heat transmitted from thewalls by radiation.

An additional advantage of this system is the provision of arefrigerated car in which, should it be desirable, the ordinary icemethod of refrigerating may be used simply by the swinging of the doorsto their open position.

The'system is relatively inexpensive to install and it may be applied tooid refrigerator cars with very little modification or can be installedin new cars as they are constructed without material increase ofexpense.

In case it is desired to use only an evaporative refrigerant, forexample, dry ice, this type of car may be advantageously used. The doorsare swung to their closed position, closing off the cargo spacecompletely from the ends of the car. The ice bunkers being sealed fromthe cargo space, function, as dead air spaces, and effec- \tivelyinsulate the cargo space. This prevents the loss of heat through theends of the car and results in a saving in the refrigerant.

From the foregoing, it is thought that the construction, operation andmany advantages of the herein described invention will be apparent to`those skilled in the art without further description, and it will beunderstood that various changes in the size, shape, proportion and minordetails of construction may be resorted to without departing from thespirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

What I claim is:

' 1. In a. refrigerator car, lin combination, an ice bunker located inan end portion of the car, an evaporative refrigerating device spacedfrom the ice bunker, and a movable barrier member located between theice bunker and the evaporative refrigerating device for completelyclosing oil! communication between the portion of the car containing theevaporative refrigerating device and the end portion of the carcontaining the ice bunker.

2. In a refrigerator car, in combination, an ice bunker located in eachend portion of the car, a movable barrier associated with each icebunker, the barriers being movable between open positions permittingcirculation of air between the portions of the car containing the icebunkers and the central portion of the car and closed positions betweenthe respective ice bunkers and the central portion of the car,completely cutting ofi communication between the said portions, -andevaporative refrigerating means located in the central portion of thecar between the barriers.

3. In a refrigerator car, the combination with evaporative refrigeratingmeans located at a point spaced from the ends of the car, of an icebunker located at each end of the car, each ice bunker being set offfrom the portion of the car containing the evaporative refrigeratingmeans by a wall extending between the walls o'f the car and havingcirculation openings therethrough, and movable closures for the openingsfor completely cutting oi the portions of the car in which the icebunkers are located from the portion of the car containing theevaporative refrigerating means.

GLENN C. GEORGE.

